Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast condemned the western countries' politically-tainted attitude towards the issue of terrorism, saying that they use the issue as an instrument to secure their long term presence in other countries.

"They (westerners) first create terrorist groups, and then strengthen them by providing weapons in order to have permanent presence in other countries," Mehman-Parast said on Saturday.

"After the terrorist groups create insecurity in specific areas, the expansionist states invade those regions under the pretext of improving security and fighting terrorism," he told press tv.

He referred to Afghanistan as the prime victim of such policies, saying, "The United States invaded the country 10 years ago under the pretext of fighting al-Qaeda, but since then, tens of thousands of Afghan people have been killed; terrorism has gained momentum and Afghanis have lost what they had before."

He went on to say that the United States has managed to establish permanent military bases in Afghanistan and is building on the opportunity to interfere in the affairs of the regional countries.